By Joseph B.A. Marzan
The Iloilo provincial government on Saturday announced the closure of the Provincial Capitol in Iloilo City today, Aug 24, 2020, for disinfection and decontamination measures after another employee was infected with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
The suspension was first announced through the provincial government’s official Facebook page on Saturday evening, but without context.
“Please be informed that work at the Iloilo Provincial Capitol will be suspended on Aug 24, 2020 (Monday) to give way to decontamination/disinfection. Since Aug 25 (Tuesday) is a local holiday in Iloilo City (Charter Day), work at the Iloilo Provincial Capitol will resume on Wednesday, August 26,” the announcement read.
In an interview with Bombo Radyo on Saturday, Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor Jr. confirmed that the closure was due to an employee who tested positive for COVID-19.
“We have one employee who tested positive. We’ve started contact tracing and we suspended all office work on Monday so we can finish contact tracing and disinfection in the Capitol building. They are a member of the [Bids and Awards Committee],” Defensor said.
Defensor added that the employee had symptoms, but he refused to give more details.
“This employee does have symptoms. But maybe let’s leave it at that, we already know that there is a positive, and we don’t need to know who they are or where they live. The only thing we need to know right now is that we had a positive, and that we need to continue to execute our protocols,” the governor said.
This is only the second time that work in the Capitol had been suspended, but this is already the third confirmed case from the said building.
Work was first suspended in the Capitol on Aug 3 and 4 after one employee tested positive for COVID-19.
Another case was reported on Aug 10, however the governor nixed the idea of another lockdown in the provincial building.
Work at the Capitol will resume on Wednesday, Aug 26, since Aug 25 is a local holiday in Iloilo City (Charter Day).
